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HISTORY OF THE

TOWN OF PAMPLICO, SC

In the early 1900’s brothers Benton D. Dargan and Henry F. Dargan began buying timber rights in this area for Dargan Lumber Company. Around 1909 the Dargan Brothers purchased from M.T. Evans a tract of land known as the “Charlotte Place” containing approximately 160 acres. Also, they purchased the “Larry Cain” tract formerly owned by J.L. and E.L Hyman, from the C.C. Finklea Company containing 80 acres. Both tracts layed on the south side of the road running from the River Road to Hyman, SC. On December 23, 1909, Henry F. Dargan bought from Hyman family heirs approximately 175 acres which layed on the north side of the road running from River Road to Hyman, and bounded on the west by Pamplico Branch. Another road branched from the River Road and on to the Mt. Zion and Salem areas. These two roads formed a cross-roads in about the center of the lands then owned by H.F. and B.D. Dargan. The only main house on these tracts of land was the home of John L. Hyman where he had lived for many years and reared his family. This house is still standing at 215 River Road. This must have seemed like a good location for a “Mile Square” town, since the City of Florence was twenty miles away, so wheels started turning to that end. Henry F. Dargan – President, Benton D. Dargan – Secretary, and James D. Evans of Florence, SC, as owners, formed the Pee Dee Land and Development Company for the purpose of developing and selling this property. A Charter of Incorporation was granted by R.M. McCown, Secretary of State, May 10, 1910.

Probably the first thing to be built was a water well, water being a necessary commodity. It was located very near the cross-roads at what is now the rear carwash shed of the Service Motor Company. The second construction was, it is thought, a lattice “Round House” built over the well. According to W. Wallace Keefe, the “Round House” had a bench or benches around the inside which provided a “meeting place” for the men of the community on Sunday afternoons or whenever they had some spare time. The third construction probably was a two-room wooden building which was used for the first office of Dargan Lumber Company. This building later became the first post office. Over the next six years many changes were made and what had been tobacco, cotton and corn fields were now being developed into a town. A plat was made by Adams & Ervin engineers of Florence, SC. Streets were surveyed and named, lots were marked off and numbered and the town was given the name of Pamplico, presumably for Pamplico Branch. It is believed that Pamplico Branch got its name from a tribe of Indians who once lived in this area since Indian artifacts have been found. Many lots were sold in late 1910, mostly to residents of the area, and a railway from Effingham, SC to the fledgling Pamplico was completed. On June 10, 1919, the Pee Dee Land and Development Company deeded the following streets to the Town of Pamplico: First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Avenues; Coleman, Steel, and Munn Avenues; Palmetto, Hickory, Walnut, Pine, Elm and Trade Streets. Also that certain portion of Trade Street designated on the plat as “Dargan Place” was deeded. In late 1919 the assets of the Pee Dee Land and Development Company were sold to A.A. Munn.

The first Pamplico business was the Pamplico Supply Company, built in 1912. The store served the residents of the area with food, work clothing and most items needed in the home and on the farm. It was a landmark on the corner or Fourth Avenue (Main Street) and Walnut Street for 57 years, closing its doors in 1969. The first industry established in Pamplico was the Dargan Lumber Company, which has changed owners through the years and is now the Marsh Furniture Company. It is the one industry, in the early history of Pamplico, that has survived and continues to support the economy of Pamplico. The first drug store was Peoples Drug Store was established in 1914 by Dr. W.H. Poston and John Ely McGough. Mr. McGough was Pamplico’s first postmaster, appointed July 13, 1914. Dr. Poston maintained his office until his death in 1950. In 1961, the Pamplico Post Office was relocated to its current location at the corner of Third Avenue and N. Trade Street.

The first bank in Pamplico, the Farmers and Merchants Bank, was established in 1914, and on June 6, 1918, the Bank of Pamplico was organized. The two banks were consolidated on January 20, 1931 and named Farmers Bank of Pamplico. Sometime later the bank was liquidated. In 1933 the Pamplico Cash Depository was organized, and in 1945 the Pamplico Bank and Trust Company was organized. In 2008 Pamplico Bank and Trust Company was purchased by The Citizens Bank which is now serving this area.

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For Your Information

On December 1, 1916 an election was held in the Town of Pamplico and the following residents were elected to govern: Benton D. Dargan, Mayor; and Councilmen Jesse W. Finklea, C.W. Boyd, W.W. Coleman, Sr., V.A. Burnis, and M.A. Coleman. The Town of Pamplico was incorporated December 1, 1916. Other Mayors are: L.W. Coker, C.D. Munn, W.W. Purvis, C.M. Wilkinson, Lawton Bennett, B.B Peebles, W.W. Coleman, Jr., Coleman W. Cain, LaVerne Ard, Dozier M. Munn, and currently Gene R. Gainey.

The Pamplico Hotel was constructed in 1916 by George J. Steele at the corner of Fourth Avenue and N. Trade Street. It burned in 1927, and Pamplico has not had a hotel since then.

The Pamplico Mule Company opened for business about 1917. It sold a commodity the farmers needed before they could afford tractors and automobiles. The business closed in 1949. The original building is now owned and occupied by Service Motor Company Inc.

The Farmers Tobacco Warehouse Company was organized in 1918. It was dissolved January 9, 1923, and the Pamplico Warehouse Company was chartered July 5, 1918. The last warehouses to operate in Pamplico were Independent Warehouse, Pamplico Banner Warehouse, and Planters Warehouse, all of which were closed as of the late 1970s as tobacco production dwindled throughout the nation.

The Pamplico Methodist Church was organized in 1920 and the building was erected in 1926. The Pamplico Baptist Church was organized in 1920 and the church was erected in 1926. The first brick school building was constructed in 1920.

Service Motor Company, located on Fourth Avenue on the former site of the Pamplico Mule Company, was organized in 1922. Over the years it has continued to grow and has done an excellent job of “sell and service” Chevrolets in this area. The present proprietors are Hugh Calcutt and Hugh Calcutt, Jr. Plowden Motors, Inc. opened a Ford dealership in 1937 or 1938 and it closed July 1998. It was located on Walnut Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenues.

The Munn Hardware Company, established by C.D. Munn, was opened for business in 1925. Ownership later passed to C.D. Munn, Jr. who operated the business until his death in 1996, and his son Charles Munn is the current owner.

In 1966 J.P. Stevens and Company, Inc. opened on River Road near Cain’s Landing, employing approximately 600 area residents. J. P. Stevens was sold to Delta Mills Marketing Company which operated until 2005. Closure of the facilities had a great economic impact on the community.

In 2005 the Dozier M. Munn Pamplico Public Library was dedicated, and the structure greatly enhances the Main Street landscape. It is one of several branches of the Florence County Library System. The area was previously served by the Pamplico Library which opened in 1968 under the leadership of Mrs. Morris Friedman, and which moved to a new facility constructed in 1974 and situated on the corner of Main Street and South Trade Street.

Town Hall has occupied the former Pamplico Library at the corner of Main Street and S. Trade Street since August 2008. Town Hall was previously located in the Pamplico Municipal Complex constructed in 1974, which currently houses the Pamplico Fire Department and the Pamplico Public Works Department. The Town of Pamplico Fire Department is operated by approximately 20 volunteers under the leadership of Fire Chief W. Edward “Eddie” Jordan.

The Town also is served by the Pamplico Ambulance and Rescue Service, Inc., an affiliate of the Florence County EMS. Approximately 20 community volunteers staff this important first-responder service.

For further details on the history of the Town of Pamplico, please see the Historical Data About Pamplico, South Carolina and Vicinity, complied by Magdalen “Maggie Duncan and Ruby Evans Bostick available at the Dozier M. Munn Pamplico Public Library.)